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THURSDAY EDITION: Microsoft wants small nuclear reactors to power its AI and cloud computing services...

Step back in time: Living history drill brings WWII era to life at Battleship Memorial Park

MOBILE, Ala. (WPMI) — Take part and see history come to life at Battleship Memorial Park on Saturday, October 7, 2023 from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at our Living History Crew Drill. Attendees who dress in 1940s/WWII attire will receive 50% off one adult admission ticket. The Blue Anchor Belles will be performing 1940s and 1950s classics from 11:45 a.m. - 12:45 p.m. on the bow of the USS ALABAMA. Immediately following their performance, “Call to Battle Stations” will be sounded at 1:00 p.m. on the bow of the USS ALABAMA. Due to mechanical issues, the planes will not be flying. However, spectators will still get to see the reenactors fire the 20mm guns and hold demonstrations for the crowd.

Throughout the day, visitors will get to interact with historical WWII reenactors aboard the USS ALABAMA and the USS DRUM. These crewmen, dressed in WWII period Navy uniforms, hold demonstrations, conduct weapons briefings, and share stories told to them by our original crewmen.

The Deep South Amateur Radio Club will be broadcasting from Radio Central aboard the USS ALABAMA during the drill and welcome visitors to come and listen. For all ham radio operators, the call letters are K4DSR and K5LDA broadcasting between 20 and 40.

The drill is open to the public and included with general admission. Battleship Memorial Park is open from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with the last ticket sold at 4:00 p.m. For more information, please visit our Facebook page at USS ALABAMA Battleship Memorial Park or call Ashleigh Milne at 251-327-8750.

WEDNESDAY EDITION: A rare sunny day here on the isle of Cape Ann, almost as rare as BC winning a football game....Today's Dumbass....

NASA Looks Ahead to October’s Annular Solar Eclipse

The Oct. 14 annular eclipse will occur as the moon will be at its furthest point from Earth while it comes between our planet and the Sun

A partial eclipse that will be visible over parts of the United States in mid-October could offer NASA a rare chance to study the Sun’s effects on the Earth. 

The Oct. 14 annular eclipse will occur as the moon will be at its furthest point from Earth while it comes between our planet and its star. Because of that distance, the Sun won’t be totally blotted out, but will rather appear as a fiery ring around the moon.

The eclipse will be visible to some degree across the contiguous United States but the full effect will only be visible for a narrow swatch cutting through Oregon to Texas.

NASA will broadcast the eclipse live on its website. 

The Sun being blocked presents an opportunity to learn more about how the star affects the Earth’s ionosphere and gravity, as well as temperature.

Three rockets will be launched into suborbital flight from New Mexico’s White Sands Missile Range which will measure electrical and magnetic fields as well as particle distribution in the atmosphere. The agency will also launch sensor-laden balloons in every state to try and pick up some of that data. 

“You're trying to really quantify the relationship between that radiation that's coming in, and how the ionosphere must be responding to that,” said NASA heliophysics program scientist Madhulika Guhathakurta. “This allows us to really understand that impact of solar radiation.” 

Some of the experiments involve recruiting civilians: A contest run by HAMSci, a group of scientifically minded ham-radio operators, will help gather data on how the eclipse will affect radio waves traveling through the Earth’s atmosphere.  

“We have lots of satellites, but currently these observations are unattainable from any other labs or space,” said Guhathakurta.  

The agency is also hoping to gain precious data from the Eclipse Soundscapes Project, a citizen science initiative aimed at recreating a 100-year-old study on how eclipses affect wildlife. 

Peg Luce, acting division director of NASA’s Heliophysics department, said the eclipse will kick off the “heliophysics big year,” culminating on Christmas Eve, when the agency’s Parker Solar Probe will make its closest approach to the Sun. 

There is a chance that NASA will be among the government agencies affected by a possible government shutdown, but a spokesperson for the agency said it was too soon to speculate on what that shutdown would mean for eclipse experiments. 

The Marconi Men and the Sinking of the Lusitania

By Dave Jensen, W7DGJ

At the mouth of the River Mersey, on England's Northwest Coast, is a town of 60,000 by the name of Wallasey. Wallasey is part of the historic county of Cheshire, a region that has been the home of fishermen and those who love the sea for hundreds of years. Wallasey was also the home of Robbie Leith, an early Amateur Radio operator and commercial radio man for the Marconi International Marine Communication Company.

Above a fireplace in a cottage home in Wallasey hangs a silver-plated key. It's not a morse code key. Instead, it's an antique that has been a Leith family heirloom for more than 100 years. That key once unlocked the Marconi Room on the huge passenger ocean liner, the Lusitania. This week in Trials and Errors, I’ll share what I’ve read about the history of this disastrous sailing, and about how two radio men put their lives at risk to do what they could to save passengers and crew. 

The Beginnings of American Involvement in WWI

The sinking of the Lusitania, one of the most horrific incidents at sea during early WWI, proved to be a key reason behind America entering the war. In early 1915, the German government had declared to the world that all Allied ships would be targets of German U-boats if they were in British waters. Despite this, the Lusitania sailed from New York on May 1st of 1915 with 1962 people on board. Just a few days later (May 7) the ship was near the town of Kinsale on Ireland's Southern coast when it was torpedoed at 2:10PM by the German submarine U-20.

The sinking of Lusitania had huge repercussions for the world. The ship sank in under twenty minutes with the loss of nearly 1200 lives. More than 400 crew members, most of them based out of Liverpool, England, perished that day. Close to 200 Americans were on board and 128 lost their lives.

Robbie Leath, the lead Marconi Man on the voyage, left David McCormick (Assistant Radio Operator) in charge of the equipment at 2PM and went down to the second class dining hall to get a late lunch. As he sat down, a bit too late for a full meal, a kind waiter found him a bowl of soup and put it down in front of him. It wasn't the first time that he'd missed a meal due to his duties in the Lusitania's Marconi room. Robbie lived and breathed radio and had been a wireless enthusiast as a boy.

On the ship, it was up to Robbie and David to ensure that everything regarding the still relatively new "at sea" technology worked flawlessly. Up until May 7th, most of the work had been decoding telegraph messages sent by the British admiralty concerning the known locations of German U-boats for the Captain of the Lusitania, William Thomas Turner, to take note of. There were also lots of messages coming in for the elite, First Class passengers -- like Mr. Vanderbilt who was on board. However, the radio men were forbidden to send code back out as it might give away their location to the Germans (even though Robbie was a master at the telegraph key).

Barely a sip or two of soup had passed his lips when an explosion rocked the dining hall, followed by a second and even more dramatic detonation. As the ship quickly took a list to one side, Robbie took the stairs to the radio room at a breakneck pace. He was almost knocked off the stairway by a mother with her two small children, and although not a word passed between them, their faces were etched in Robbie's memory. (Years later, Leith's memoirs speak of the effect on him to see their bodies in the morgue.) 

Moving quickly past the wires and antennas that emanated out of the Marconi room, he saw that McCormick had already engaged the motor powering the transmitter. The assistant operator had not yet sent a message, so Robbie slid into his chair, grabbed his telegraph key, and sent their first message since the voyage began:

Come at once, big list, 10 miles south Old Head Kinsale

As the two radio men looked at their equipment, their eyes were fixed on the ammeter needle on the front panel of their transmitter. It was wavering. Robbie knew that he had but a moment or two before they would lose power. While David began the process of readying the emergency batteries, Robbie keyed one last message -- this time a bit more urgently:

Send Help Quickly.  Am Listing Badly!

It isn't clear in the historical records who was the first to respond to the Lusitania's SOS, but it was later determined that the two Marconi men were heros. The ship was substantially under water at the time they made their historic connection, and both men waited until the very last moment in order to ensure their message was received. 

One passenger later reported how surprised he was to see the Marconi room still occupied as the ship was clearly only moments from sinking. When the radio operators saw that passenger at their doorway, they slid him the wooden radio shack chair and suggested that he use it as a flotation device. No thoughts at all about their own safety -- in fact, David McCormick pulled out a camera and took a photo of the deck being completely level with the ocean surface. 

After the two Marconi men knew their messages had been received, they parted company; each found his own way off the boat in the very last moments. Robbie spotted a small, partially submerged boat that had been tied to the sinking ship, and he lept in to help get the craft released from the sinking Lusitania. David decided to go down with the ship, literally. He entered the whirlpool of suction at the surface, only to pop up again like a cork and get rescued by a fishing trawler. 

Later, the Captain of that trawler noted that his ship reached the exact location of the Lusitania only because of the transmissions sent by the two Marconi men who had risked their lives to get that message out.

On the German U-Boat, U-20

Visibility was poor the morning of May 7th. The submarine U-20 was low on fuel and had only three torpedoes left. Captain Walther Schwieger decided not to take the submarine into the Irish Sea and decided to begin their way home. The submarine submerged at 11:00 AM. after sighting a fishing vessel that Schwieger believed might be a British patrol boat. However, just after 1:20 PM, the chief engine room officer spotted the Lusitania on the horizon, a rich target for the U-20.

Seeing the opportunity, Schwieger brought U-20 into position.  At a 700-meter range, Schwieger ordered one gyroscopic torpedo to be fired, running at a depth of about ten feet. His first orders to fire on the Lusitania were refused by officer Charles Voegele, an Alsatian. He would not fire on a passenger ship (he was subsequently court-martialed). Still, another officer took the order and fired the torpedo at Lusitania. Schwieger was shocked at the secondary explosion which even rocked the sub. The torpedo had been a direct hit on the stokehold, with its boilers and storage of fuel. 

When he peered through his periscope at the disasterous loss of life and the mad scramble on board the ship, Captain Schwieger decided not to fire another torpedo into the Lusitania. Witnesses later stated, however, that they saw the submarine rise to the surface, raise the German flag, and had seen the Captain on deck for a few minutes before he submerged again and pointed his sub for home. 

The sinking of the Lusitania was a disaster and certainly pushed the world further into War in 1915. But that story also illustrates to us how important radio had become on the sea. And, with the two Marconi men -- Robbie Leith and David McCormick -- history shows us the direct connection between committed radio operators and the many lives they saved.

Please join us in the attached discussion forum and suggest other interesting stories from the last 100+ years of radio history.

73 for now,

Dave

Propagation....

TUESDAY EDITION: 14 of 17 weekends since June have rained, hope that doesn't happen this winter or I will need to park the old Case 530 in the driveway....WOOT has 4 Dell laptops on sale for less than 99 bucks, some for $79....

He can fix anything in that damn radio but can't fix the kitchen drain....

MONDAY EDITION: NE Patriots squeaked by this weekend, not exactly a powerhouse team...

Novel placement for an antenna....

Citizen scientists can join a ‘Ring of Fire’ eclipse radio experiment

As energy spews from the sun and travels to Earth, it will interact with a special layer in our atmosphere.

Every year or two, the solar system lines up just right, with the moon casting a shadow over part of Earth’s surface and blocking out the sun—a solar eclipse. In 2017, people across the United States flocked to see the “Great American Total Eclipse”, which was the first one visible in the continental states since 1979. Now, eclipse chasers and citizen scientists across North America are getting ready for the next big events: an annular eclipse on October 14, 2023 and a total eclipse on April 8, 2024. This will be the last eclipse visible in the continental US until August 2045, more than two decades away. 

People love eclipses for the novelty—how cool it is to see the sun disappear in the day. But these phenomena are both showstoppers and opportunities: a group of radio astronomers and citizen scientists called Radio JOVE is aiming to capitalize on the upcoming eclipses for science, part of NASA’s “Helio Big Year.”

Radio JOVE “initially started as an education and outreach project to help students, teachers, and the general public get involved in science,” explains project co-founder Chuck Higgins, an astronomer at Middle Tennessee State University. The project has been running since the late 1990s, when it began at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. “We now focus on science and try to inspire people to become citizen scientists.” 

As its name suggests, Radio JOVE originally focused on the Jovian planet, Jupiter. “Serendipitously, it turns out that the same radio wavelengths we use for observing Jupiter are also useful for observing the sun,” says Thomas Ashcraft, a citizen scientist from New Mexico who has been observing with Radio JOVE since 2001. After the 2017 Great American Eclipse, its members became more involved with heliophysics, the study of the sun.

As energy spews from the sun and travels to Earth, it interacts with our planet’s atmosphere; in particular, the sun’s rays create a layer of ionized particles, known as the ionosphere. Any radio waves coming from the sun have to pass through these particles above us. Communication technology takes advantage of this layer, bouncing radio waves off it to travel long distances.

The ionosphere’s plasma changes a lot between day and night. When the sun shines on this layer, particles break into ions. When the sun is absent, those ions calm down. During eclipses, when most of the sun’s light is blocked, similar changes happen in the short term change. By measuring those fluctuations precisely with a fleet of amateur observers, Radio JOVE hopes to improve our understanding of the ionosphere.

To do so, Radio JOVE is equipping citizen scientists across the country with small radio receivers and training them to observe radio waves from Earth’s ionosphere. The project offers some-assembly-required starter kits for around $200, and a whole team of experts and experienced observers are around to support new volunteers. 

[Related: The best US parks for eclipse chasers to see October’s annularity]

Right now, they’re prepping participants for a full day of observing during the October annular eclipse. Project members are already gathering data to have a baseline of the sun’s influence on a normal day, which they’ll compare to the upcoming eclipse data. And this is only a small taste before the big event: next year’s total eclipse. “The 2023 annular eclipse will be used as a training, learning, and testing experience in an effort to achieve the highest quality data for the 2024 total eclipse,” Higgins wrote in a summary for an American Geophysical Union conference.

Citizen science projects such as Radio JOVE not only collect valuable data, but they also involve a new crowd in NASA’s scientific community. Anyone interested in science can join in, and if Radio JOVE doesn’t suit your interests, NASA has a long list of other opportunities. For example, if you’re a ham radio operator, you can get involved with HamSCI, which also plans to observe the upcoming eclipse.

“NASA’s Radio JOVE Citizen Science Project allows me to further explore my lifelong interest in astronomy,” said John Cox, a Radio JOVE citizen scientist from South Carolina, in a NASA press release. “A whole new portion of the electromagnetic spectrum is now open to me.”

 

WEEKEND EDITION: Gaston County resident Oscar Norris, also known by his call sign W4OXH, is turning 106 on Sept. 25. Norris is not only the oldest living amateur radio operator in North Carolina, but according to information from the American Radio Relay League he is also the oldest living operator in the United States....Riding with Biden is getting hard to watch....

Anna Gomez Confirmed to Federal Communications Commission (FCC)

The US Senate confirmed Anna Gomez as the fifth commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission on September 7, 2023. Gomez thanked President Biden for the nomination and the Senate for her confirmation.

"I am grateful for the opportunity to serve," she said in a statement on her LinkedIn page.

Gomez is an attorney with decades of experience in domestic and international communications law and policy. She served for 12 years in various positions at the FCC, including Deputy Chief of the International Bureau and Senior Legal Advisor. She most recently served as a Senior Advisor for International Information and Communications Policy in the State Department's Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy, where she has been leading US preparations for the month-long World Radiocommunication Conference 2023 (WRC-23) that will commence on November 20 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Steve Lang will replace Gomez as head of the US delegation to WRC-2023. Lang is a longtime state department official serving as Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Information and Communications Policy. Lang has been working closely with Gomez on US WRC-2023 delegation preparations.

ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio® has represented the interests of US radio amateurs in preparation for the conference, and ARRL Technical Relations Specialist Jon Siverling, WB3ERA, has been appointed to the US delegation for WRC-23. ARRL also actively supports the work of the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU), which, as a member of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Radiocommunication Sector, participates in conference preparatory work and whose representatives will also attend WRC-23 by invitation as observers in an advisory capacity.

Never played CB but I notice this mag with the amateur radio section....1950-1960

Celebrating 50 Years of the ARRL Foundation

Thursday, September 21, 2023, marked 50 years since the ARRL Foundation was formed. As a partner with ARRL, the ARRL Foundation stewards philanthropic support for amateur radio through scholarships, club grants, and other programs to ensure a strong and vibrant future for the avocation.

The total assets of the nonprofit entity measured nearly $8M at its most recent annual audit, but it grew from humble beginnings. In September 1973, several members of the ARRL Board of Directors worked to establish the charity. Larry Shima, W0PAN, was the Director of the ARRL Dakota Division at the time and did a lot of work to get the Foundation started. Shima is very pleased with the Foundation’s success, stating, “We started off with $1,000, and just look at it now!”

Shima says the original intent was to support future generations of radio amateurs. At the time, space and satellite communications were cutting-edge, and they were the focus of ARRL Foundation activities, though scholarships were also high on the list. “I was thrilled when I got the recent issue of QST that had the photos of the scholarship recipients in it. That is exactly what it was intended to do; we wanted to provide scholarships for young people,” he said.

Gifts from generous donors support The ARRL Foundation, but it also works to help other charitable groups extend their reach. In an address to donors delivered over the summer, ARRL Foundation President David Norris, K5UZ, highlighted a recent grant the Foundation received. “The recent support the Foundation has received from Amateur Radio Digital Communications, or ARDC, has been transformational. We have been able to dramatically increase the funding of scholarships through their generosity and are working through a program of club grants, where more than $500,000 was distributed to clubs looking to take on new projects or sustain their organizations – and to share their learning with others,” he told the crowd.

Shima was just 35 when the ARRL Foundation was formed. He is the only surviving founding member of the Foundation Board. Fifty years later, he believes that hams who have done well in life have an obligation to support amateur radio by giving generously to ARRL and the ARRL Foundation.  Ongoing financial support enables ARRL to promote and protect amateur radio while our Foundation supports the future generations of hams.

That generous support will have a tangible reach. More than 100 scholarships, ranging from $500 to $25,000, will be awarded in 2024. Thank you to the many donors for making this work possible, and congratulations to the numerous scholarship recipients who have benefited from their generosity.

FRIDAY EDITION: Another sunny one until the weekend brings in another batch of rain and wind, a fitting end to the summer we had.....

Who would guess the ISS has a maze of wires connected to the ham station aboard?

Amateur Radio Newsline Report

VANDALS DESTROY CLUB'S SHED, EQUIPMENT, IN CANADA

PAUL/ANCHOR: We begin this week with the story of a ham radio club in Canada that is struggling with the loss of important radio equipment that was the heart and soul of the group. We hear about them from Sel Embee KB3TZD.

SEL: The Cambridge Amateur Radio Club VE3SWR went QRT earlier this month following a break-in at the shed where the club stores its equipment. The Kitchener-Waterloo Amateur Radio Club helped get them back on the air. While the Cambridge club sorts out the damage and the losses from the early September incident, members have been given use of the Kitchener-Waterloo club's equipment and repeaters. Harry Niezen, VE3HZ, president of the Kitchener club, told the CBC that it was natural for the club to open its doors to help fellow hams.

According to a story on the CBC website, Scott Mitchell, VA3GGT, president of the Cambridge club, said that the club's electric generator went missing along with numerous tools after the break-in. Part of the storage shed had been set on fire and the club's repeaters suffered smoke damage. The club's duplexer had been thrown to the other side of the shed and was destroyed.

Scott said he discovered the damage in early September after going to the shed to check on why the club repeater had not been on the air for a few days. He thought perhaps the extreme heat in that part of Canada had caused the shutdown. Temperatures were 40 degrees Celsius, including the humidity index.

Scott posted on the club's Facebook page that although much of the shed was ransacked [quote] "thankfully our repeaters were the only thing they didn’t break into." [endquote]

The incident has been reported to police. According to a report on iheartradio Canada, the losses and damage are estimated at between $2,000 and $3,000.

This is Sel Embee, KB3TZD.

(CBC, IHEARTRADIO. CAN, FACEBOOK)

**
MAINE HAMS ADDING EMERGENCY RADIO TOWER

PAUL/ANCHOR: In Maine, hams are getting ready to take on a lifesaving project that addresses a need in one part of their region of the state. Andy Morrison K9AWM fills us in.

ANDY: An amateur radio club in Maine says there is something important missing in one region of Aroostoock County: an emergency amateur radio tower. The group, the Caribou Emergency Amateur Radio Service, plans to change that. Members are raising the estimated $35,000 they will need to build a 190-foot tower filling the radio void that exists between Caribou and the St. John Valley. The hams plan to install the tower on a 1.5-acre plot of land donated by Caribou Emergency Amateur Radio Service president T.H. Merritt, KL5YJ, and his wife, Terri. They said the land's high altitude makes it an especially good location for a tower.

When completed, this will be the Caribou group's fourth tower for use by area hams for communications every day and in emergency situations.

The new tower will also be a welcome addition to communicators around the region, according to Darren Woods, KC1ERZ, the director of Aroostook's Emergency Management Agency. He told the Bangor, Maine, Daily News that all first responders in the area will benefit from having this kind of expanded radio access in a crisis.

The funds being raised are expected to cover the cost of the tower, a backup generator that relies on solar and battery power, and other items. The Caribou radio group, which is a nonprofit organization, has also applied for a $8,590 community safety grant from the local utility, Versant Power, to purchase a repeater.

This is Andy Morrison K9AWM.


(BANGOR DAILY NEWS)

**
MISSOURI HAMS ADD DEFIBRILLATOR TO EMERGENCY TOOLKIT

PAUL/ANCHOR: The amateur radio operator's tool kit for disaster assistance usually consists of towers, radios, antennas and other communications equipment. Now one club in Missouri has just added a new device - one that communicates with the heart. Randy Sly W4XJ brings us the details.

RANDY: The Sedalia-Pettis Amateur Radio Klub has a new addition to its emergency communications trailer. It's an AED, an automated external defibrillator which is capable of restoring the heart's natural rhythm in cases of cardiac arrest. The small device was donated by an organization called Wear Red for Women, which raised the funds to buy it during a luncheon and auction earlier this year.

The club's vice president, Richard Camirand, KEØQYA, told local media that the AED will be placed in the emergency communications trailer that hams use during disaster drills as well as real emergencies.

This is Randy Sly W4XJ.

(KMMO RADIO, THE SEDALIA DEMOCRAT)

**
HAMS IN LATVIA CELEBRATE THE MECHANICAL KEY

PAUL/ANCHOR: You may have worked the Latvian Contest Group YL1ZX in any number of major contests on the band over the course of any year. Well, now those same hams are involved in another activity - one that its members have organized as a kind of celebration. We hear about it from Jeremy Boot G4NJH.

JEREMY: Something special will be happening on 80 metres in a few short weeks: It's a celebration of the mechanical key used by many CW operators. This one-hour activity featuring bugs, side-swiper and straight keys will encourage amateurs to shake the dust off on the 13th of October and engage in as many QSOs as they can using a simple exchange. The activity frequencies will be between 3.520 MHz and 3.560 MHz. Operators will be calling "CQ MK," of course, for "mechanical key."

This is the third activity of this kind that the group will have hosted this year in the hopes of recognising these keys' increasing popularity.

For details and to see the operators' simple exchange, see the link that can be found in the text version of this week's newscast.

This is Jeremy Boot G4NJH.

[FOR PRINT ONLY: http://yl3jd.fizioikskile.lv/mkey/ ]

(QRZ.COM, LATVIAN CONTEST GROUP)

**
AMATEURS AMONG RADIO CLUB OF AMERICA HONOREES

PAUL/ANCHOR: The ham radio community can once again be proud of some of the award-winners being recognized by the Radio Club of America. Who are they? Neil Rapp WB9VPG tells us.

NEIL: A number of amateur radio operators are being recognized by the Radio Club of America for their contributions to radio and the wireless community. Ruth Willet KM4LAO, was chosen as the first recipient of the Radio Club of America's Carole Perry Young Professional Award. According to the RCA website, her selection was based on her work with the RCA's Youth Activities Program and recognizes her pursuit of a career in the wireless industry. Ruth previously received the RCA's Young Achiever Award while she was an undergraduate at Kettering University in Michigan.

The other recipients include Ray Novak N9JA of Icom America, who will receive RCA's Special Service Award. Tim Duffy, K3LR, the CEO of DXEngineering is being recognized for products their business has provided to the wireless industry. They will join a number of others at an awards banquet in November in Denver, Colorado.

The RCA has also announced the inauguration of two awards named for scientsts prominent in the field of radio. The awards are named for entrepreneur and scientist Ulrich Rohde N1UL/DJ2LR and Nobel Prize-winning radio astronomer Arno Penzias. The first recipients will be named next year. The Ulrich L. Rohde Award for Innovation in Applied Radio Science and Engineering recognizes innovation and major contributions to wireless communications. The Arno A. Penzias Award for Contributions to Basic Research in the Radio Sciences recognizes research in RF and related subjects.

This is Neil Rapp WB9VPG.

(RADIO WORLD)

**
SPECIAL EVENT STATION SAYS 'COME AND GET WYOMING'

PAUL/ANCHOR: If your heart is set on getting that elusive Worked All States award and the state of Wyoming is still missing from your log, wait no longer. Special event station W7Y will be listening for you from September 22nd to October 2nd. When operators around the state call "QRZ" what they're really saying is "Come and Get Wyoming" - which just happens to be the name of the event being organized by the ShyWy Amateur Radio Club. Just as in previous years, Wyoming contacts are out there for the taking so get on the air and go for it. For additional details visit QRZ.com and look for W7Y - "come and get Wyoming."

(ROBERT BRAGG, WY7AA; QRZ.COM)

**
WISCONSIN RADIO CAMPOUT EXPANDS

PAUL/ANCHOR: What's better than camping out with friends and radios? How about camping out with MORE friends and MORE radios? That's why three Wisconsin amateurs are sharing their annual autumn tradition with the immediate world. Kent Peterson KCØDGY tells us what's going on.

KENT: In autumn, you'll find Michael KB9VBR, Travis W9HDG, and Joe KD9CJX in the park together, camping and calling CQ as they have done for a few years now. This year, as October rolls around, they've decided to put out another call - a QST to anyone and everyone in the area, or who'll be visiting, to join them at the Clear Lake Campground in the Northern Highlands American Legion State Forest. That park carries the POTA designation K-7260 so you know what that means.

The three ham hosts are calling this the inaugural Wisconsin Ham Radio POTA Campout and it's taking place on October 13th to the 15th. According to the event website, you can activate as much or as little as you like and use any mode you wish. Come for the weekend - or just for a day. However, if you're going to camp, you'll need to make a reservation through the Wisconsin state parks system.

If you want to attend, you can use the contact form on the event website or email Michael directly. His email address and the campout website both appear in the text version of this week's newscast at arnewsline.org

Oh, and arrive prepared for the kind of the outdoor weather that mid-October in Wisconsin can bring. The campout even has its own official T-shirt and hoodie, with either to be worn, depending on the weather. As for the weather, well, the organizers say that this event will take place, rain or shine -- or anything else!

This is Kent Peterson KCØDGY.

**
UK HAMS PREPARE FOR A MONTH OF ACTIVATING BUNKERS

PAUL/ANCHOR: History will come alive next month at numerous military bunkers around the UK. This is a radio exercise, not a contest, and organizers hope it will become a popular event every year. We learn more from Jeremy Boot G4NJH.

JEREMY: Throughout October, hams and shortwave listeners around the world are getting a new chance to make contact with hundreds of Royal Observer Corps bunkers throughout the UK, including the Isle of Man. Activators will be stationed all month at these important defence watching posts just as other hams have done over the years when the event was managed by a team at Castles and Stately Homes on the Air. Organisers of this event are dedicating it to the memory of Chris Darlington, MØDOL, who helped create the programme for the previous group. Chris became a Silent Key in the spring of 2017.

The origins lie with the Coventry Amateur Radio Society, which made bunker activations a club event for some four years. Two hams, Brian G8GMU and Joshua M3HBM, are credited with starting the activity as a low-power VHF and UHF exercise.

Bunkers, of course, are used as observation posts and in keeping with that mission, the organisers will be doing just that to see whether this is a viable programme that can be launched in earnest starting in November.

Visit the event website at the link that appears in the text version of this week's newscast script at arnewsline.org

This is Jeremy Boot G4NJH.

**
WORLD OF DX

In the World of DX, listen for Darren, VK4MAP, operating holiday style as 3D2RAT from Rotuma Island, IOTA number OC-060, until the 29th of September. Darren is using SSB on 80, 40, 20, 15, 12 and 10 metres. QSL direct to his home call.

The Emirates Amateur Radio Society is marking Saudi National Day with a special callsign A6ØARS. The station will be on the air through to the 23rd of September. Details are available on QRZ.com. The callsign A91ARS will also be on the air through the 23rd, operating by the Bahrain Amateur Radio Society. QSL via EC6DX.

Listen for John, AG7N, using the call DL/AG7N as he operates holiday style from Norderney Island, EU-047, through to the 23rd of September. Listen on 20 metres where he will be using CW. See QRZ.com for details.

Vincent, K6VVK, is operating holiday style as FO/K6VVK from two islands in French Polynesia. He is on Moorea, IOTA number OC-046, from the 25th of September to the 1st of October and then he is moving on to Rangiroa, IOTA number OC-066, where he will operate from the 2nd to the t6th of October. He will be using SSB, CW and FT8/FT4 on the HF bands and 6 metres. See QRZ.com for QSL details.

(425 DX BULLETIN)

**
KICKER: BIOGRAPHY CELEBRATES A UNIVERSE OF CONTRIBUTIONS

PAUL/ANCHOR: In our last story, we introduce a prominent figure in radio astronomy, the late Australian researcher Joe Pawsey. How big are his contributions? As we hear from Graham Kemp VK4BB, they're as big as the universe itself.

GRAHAM: It took 15 years and the efforts of three authors on two continents to complete the project - but the fruits of their labour would likely have brought a smile to Australian radio astronomer Joe Pawsey. His biography has been published.

W.M. Goss, Claire Hooker and Ronald D Ekers collaborated on the book, "Joe Pawsey and the Founding of Australian Radio Astronomy." On Wednesday, the 27th of September, scientists at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in New Mexico are preparing to celebrate the coauthors' achievement, which maps the researcher's life and work and its relevance to radio astronomy today.

The story tracks the researcher's earliest studies following the Second World War, when Joe Pawsey was at the helm of Australia's first radio astronomy research group. He is credited with inspiring the creation of the radio astronomy group of the Radiophysics Laboratory at Australia's national science agency in Sydney. The book explains how his study of the interference between radio waves later paved the way for creation of the Very Large Array, antennas that create a single telescope spanning great distances.

The book launch, like the book itself, has also spanned great distances. In July, the Pawsey Supercomputing Research Centre in Perth hosted the event in his native Australia -- a nation whose profile he helped elevate in the world of science. As Ronald Ekers writes on the NRAO website [quote] "The book explains how an isolated continent with limited resources grew to be one of the international leaders in the study of radio astronomy and the design of instruments to do so.” [endquote]

This is Graham Kemp VK4BB.

(NATIONAL RADIO ASTRONOMY OBSERVATORY)

**
DO YOU HAIKU? ROGER ROGER!

PAUL: What's the one ham radio competition you can enter without turning your rig on? The Amateur Radio Newsline haiku challenge. In the spirit of fun and perhaps a little bit of literary adventure, we've been inviting listeners to channel their most creative selves and share the joy of ham radio in the form of a haiku. On our website, arnewsline.org, you will find a submission form. Use it to send your most poetic offering that follows the traditional haiku form: The first line is five syllables, the second line is seven syllables and the finishing third line has another five syllables. We cannot accept any other formats.

Our team will pick from the best submissions that follow the 5/7/5 syllable rule and represent the love of amateur radio. Your prize? For now, bragging rights -- and a featured spot for your haiku on the Amateur Radio Newsline website. We may have a surprise for you at the end of the year, however. So visit our website at arnewsline.org and take a look at this week's winning ham radio haiku.

THURSDAY EDITION: NEAR-Fest XXXIV, October 13  &  14, 2023, Deerfield, NH

From Tom Perera W1TP: You might enjoy a look at the talk on "Disappearing Ham Radio History" that I gave at the NE ARRL 2023 conference in Marlboro, MA. It brings back some of the good old days of ham radio:
http://w1tp.com/temp/DisappearingHamRadioHistory.mp4

Here is a great resource. 

https://haminfo.tetranz.com/map

Amateur Radio License Map
Use this map to find amateur radio license holders in the USA. Click here for more info.
- Select the type of input (callsign, gridsquare, zip code or street address) on the left.
- Enter an appropriate search value on the right.
- Hit the button.
- Scroll down see the map.
The selection determines the center of the map.
When the map appears, you can adjust the zoom level and drag the map around. If you're looking at a sparsely populated area, you'll probably need to zoom out.
After two seconds of not moving, it will reload with stations for the new area. You can also click on the gridsquare labels to center tha map on that square. Use the "Show grid labels" checkbox to temporarily remove the gridsquare lines and labels if they get in the way.

HISTORY OF THE HAMFEST

Saturday, May 13th, 2023.  It was exactly fifty years ago today, the Saturday before Mothers Day 1973, that the first Hosstraders was held at the Addams Family Campground in Seabrook NH.  There were sixty one attendees.  Were you one of them?

Hosstraders was held there in 1974 and 1975 but the event quickly outgrew the Addams campground and so Norm, Bob and Joe moved it to the Deerfield Fairgrounds which where it was held until October 1992. In May 1993 Hosstraders was held at the Rochester NH fairgrounds and remained there until October 2000.  May 2001 found the event being held at the Hopkinton Fairgrounds where it remained intil October 2006. 

May 2007 was the first NEAR-Fest and our return to Deerfield.  30 hamfests later we are still there.

Trivia....

WEDNESDAY EDITION: Nice day and no ham news to report....yet

The PL259, A Tale of Woe

I'm one of those guys who buys premium silver plated PL259s and pays upwards of $5 a piece for them. While some amateurs might believe that my connector phobia borders on Barnum's "A sucker is born every minute", I think not, and I'll tell you why.

It is my humble opinion the single most prevalent problem amateurs face is caused by the ubiquitous PL259. They typically are poorly or incorrectly soldered (if at all), the coax preparation is almost never done properly, and the material making up cheap PL259s easily corrodes or rusts adding insult to an already terse situation. These situations result in blaming all matter of station equipment and antennas rather than the real culprit; the PL259. So this treatise is an attempt to address the situation by making a few pertinent suggestions. First, there are a few do's and don'ts which need to be discussed aside from the quality issue of cheap PL259s.

Never, ever use a soldering gun! Soldering guns have very little thermal mass and as soon as you touch the tip to a cold connector what little latent heat there is, is drawn away. While you're waiting for the material to get hot enough to melt the solder, the core is slowly but surely being damaged beyond use. Proper soldering of PL259s requires two soldering irons (more on this later).

Never, ever cut coax with wire cutters! Doing so distorts the core and the center conductor making installation of the PL259 body rather difficult. If you don't have a proper cable cutter, a heavy-duty box cutter with a new blade is your best bet. Lay the coax on a scrap chunk of lumber and tap the box cutter through the coax with a small hammer. The cut needs to be clean and even. FULL STORY

MEANWHILE IN INDIA: Twelve IAS officers of 2022 batch, hailing from different states of the country, received training on handling ham radio at the BR Ambedkar Institute of Panchayats and Rural Development (BRAIRPD) at Kalyani in Nadia district on Sunday

West Bengal Radio Club (WBRC), an organisation of ham radio enthusiasts in the state, conducted the training programme on the request of the institute that functions under the aegis of the state Panchayats and Rural Development (P&RD) department.

According to Ambarish Nag Biswas, general secretary and custodian of WBRC, the IAS officers training was not similar to that of the WBCS officers, police or disaster management personnel, considering the fact that they will be at the helm of administrative affairs.

The subject of the training was Scope Management.

Issues like how connectivity can be developed through ham radio, how still pictures and video footage can be sent with the help of radio stations even if there is no internet, how can amateur radio establish contact in places where normal connectivity is a challenge were covered during the training.

Previously, state police, teachers, Panchayat officials, state doctors and nurses and officers working in civil service received training in handling ham radio.

The ham radio training is an integral part of the ongoing training of these bureaucrats at BRAIRPD that began on September 11. The training, particularly on Panchayat and rural development current situation and role of administration, will be held till September 22.

TUESDAY EDITION: Looks like a stretch of sunny weather here on Cape Ann....

KO4QXD-Carol L Clay-USA

BIO:

I tested for both my Technician and General License (both on the same day) the end of May 2021... prior to this, I had been tagging along with my OM (KI4OGK) doing QRP transmissions with POTA and SOTA in the parks around where we live.  We use an ICOM 705 for QRP (bought the backpack which goes with it), as well as building our own portable antennas to take with us, load everything into the saddlebags of the motorcycles and off we go!  We also use an Elecraft K2 and a Tentec Scout 555 for above QRP mobile operations.  At the QTH we use an ICOM 7300 and an ICOM 746 Pro with a Dentron Amplifier for more power.

For antennas, we prefer to build our own for QRP operations.  At the QTH we have a combination of both homebrew antennas and commercial beams.

I've been a Medic in the Army for the past 18 years, and I met Eddie in Afghanistan in 2009.  We are both competitive shooters and reload our own precision rounds, which is actually something I learned from my Dad when I was young, both shooting and reloading.  We are members of a Sportsman's Club (private Range) and enjoy going out and burning rounds, (when ammunition costs are not so high!)

My grandfather had enlisted into the Army Air Corps and was a Radio Operator on a B-17 during WWII and successfully completed his 25 missions  prior to the D-Day Invasions into Europe.  So radio is in my blood!

Long wave radio fans mourn fading frequencies

STORY: As he turned the dial gently but purposefully, the sound of people speaking in foreign languages and the lilt of unfamiliar music burst through a haze of crackle and buzz.

Clint Gouveia was only about seven years old at the time, listening to long wave radio in bed, late at night.

"I could hear all these voices from far away," he recalls. "It inspired me to want to see the world when I got older, to travel, which eventually I did."

Back then, in the late 1970s, there were dozens of long wave stations broadcasting. Now, only a handful are left. Among them are those in Denmark and Iceland - but they are due to shut by the end of 2023 and during 2024, respectively.

K1DPM Obit

Richard Small, 78 years of age, of Parrish, Fla., share his sudden passing on May 2, 2023. He was a past resident of South Portland and Old Orchard Beach. Rick, Richard, Dick or Dicky was a beloved father, husband, grandfather, and friend.

Rick was born Nov. 20, 1944 to Gerald and Thelma Russell Small. He was raised in South Portland and spent many summers in Milbridge with his grandparents.

He served in the United States Air Force from 1965-1969 stationed in Thailand and retiring with the rank of Sargent.

After graduating from the University of Maine with a BS in Accounting in 1972, he started his career in finance. He held positions as Senior Auditor at Price, Waterhouse, Coopers in New York, NY; General Manager of El-Jay, Inc., a division of Raytheon Company in Eugene, Ore.; VP Finance of N.A. Taylor, Gloversville, NY; and CEO/Founder of Medex Management Corporation, Yarmouth, Maine. In retirement, he completed his Masters of Aeronautical Science at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University with a 4.0; and worked as a Business Development Manager at Aging Excellence in Saco, Maine; and as an Instructor at Portland Adult Education. He also served in the Volunteer Ambassador Program in the Emergency Department at Maine Medical Center for many years and was involved with the Chamber of Commerce in Saco and Eugene, Ore.

He loved flying and was an FAA private pilot maintaining his license until his passing. He was once escorted by FBI aircraft to the nearest airfield after breaching President Bush’s airspace in Kennebunkport.

Rick was a Ham radio operator for over 60 years beginning in his young teens. The infamous Suckbag Radio, call sign K1DPM, was well known by the FAA and other radio frequencies. The laughs and the stories were endless and hilarious with Ricky, Jeff, Warren, Dud, Ken, Brian and many others.

He loved his cars and took meticulous care of them to include Porsche, Mustang, Audi, BMW and his latest Mazda Miata MX-5.

Rick was a strong supporter of the 2nd Amendment and an avid shooter. 

He loved all animals, especially dogs, and had many throughout the years. He leaves behind his beloved dog Lexi who misses him every minute of every day and his beautiful cat Annabelle. 

Rick loved to travel visiting Hawaii six times, Italy several times, and most of the Caribbean Islands. 

Rick had a great sense of humor and never-ending support and love for his family. Many people shared “he was the smartest person I ever knew”.

He was predeceased by his parents and best friends, Bob Hanson and Ricky Dennison, whom he dearly missed. The three of them have not stopped laughing since he arrived in Heaven. 

He is very sadly missed every day by his wife and best friend Lisa (Stevens); his beloved daughter Julie and son-in-law Chris, and grandchildren Allison and Jack; Lisa’s daughter Lindsay and grandchildren, David and Raven; Lisa’s son Nicholas and daughter-in-law Cassey; sisters-in-law Deborah Delp and Katie Lord, brothers-in-law Ben, Matthew and Jason Stevens; and many cousins and extended family.

 

MONDAY MORNING: Let's see, Deerfield hamfest is on the way, the big one in New England. It just has a comfortable old time radio feel to it, great time to run into hams you know on and off the airwaves.....Mike exposes an Unun. Tommy renews his FCC License step by step. Emile hits the Pi Bullseye. Announcing our 18th Anniversary Contest with an Icom IC-705 and a package of great accessories from MFJ. Contest details are available at https://amateurlogic.tv/contest.....Amateur Radio Enthusiast Appeared to Accidentally Overhear US Pilots Training for Raid on North Korean ‘VIP’ in 2017: Report

Bowman students chat with an astronaut

The International Space Station may be many miles away, but for Bowman Middle School students, it was closer than ever during the county’s second “Ask an Astronaut” event on Aug. 28.

The event was at Harris Middle last October and was with astronaut Robert Hines. 

Through Amateur Radio on the International Space Station, this year’s students had a question-and-answer session with astronaut Steve Bowen. Students picked his brain about life as an astronaut, what inspired his career choice, his taste in science fiction movies and more.

Students rotated through a list of more than a dozen questions and ended each question with the key phrase.

“Over.”

Gracie Peterson, Abel Rohr, Evan Payne, Anthony Rhinecker, Ashton Rohr, Beckett Thayer, Ethan Putman, Mario Martinez, Riley McCourry, Brayden Gillespie, Mayce Woody, Jocelyn Moody, Kaylee Adamo, Kevin Myrick, Carson Vess, Autumn Buchanan, Abbi Street, Mason McKinney, Kinlee Young, Rylie Parker and Ali Young asked questions or were otherwise involved.

Participating faculty and staff included principal Amber Young, Dan Hopson, Zeb Sturgill, Lincoln Masters, Samantha Kirk, Eddie Silvers, Shana Cook, Britney McKinney and Barbara Douglas. 

U.S. Representative Virginia Foxx was also in attendance along with Bob Koepke of ARISS, Marvin Hoffman and Max Hopper of NC ARRL, Brannon Young and Tammy Hopson. 

Prior to speaking with Bowen, students and faculty reflected on their journey to the day and what went into the preparation. Students also viewed a video featuring astronaut Tim Peake. 

Dan Hopson, a local STEM teacher, was once again instrumental in setting up the talk. 

When he did so with Hines at Harris last year, the local middle school became the only one in the state to receive an invitation— only roughly two dozen nationwide get an invitation each year. 

Competition to land a chance to talk to an astronaut is fierce, but through Hopson’s diligence and copious paperwork, it became a reality for Bowman this year, as it did Harris last year. 

ARISS lets students worldwide experience the excitement of talking to International Space Station crew members, inspiring them to pursue interests in STEM careers.

Xiegu New product Introduction

It is a new generation of ultra-portable shortwave transceiver. It adopts advanced RF direct sampling architecture and is equipped with powerful baseband and RF units. It integrates rich functions of major models and has built-in popular remote network control function. [B]ringing you a new amateur radio experience.

    • RF direct acquisition architecture, HF/50MHz full-mode transceiver
    • Supports listening to WFM broadcast frequency bands and supports listening to aviation frequency bands
    • Built-in high-efficiency automatic antenna tuner
    • Support network remote control
    • Integrated standing wave scanner and voice pager
    • Integrated modem, preset text messages, CW automatic calling
    • Standardly equipped with high stability TCXO internal clock source
    • External expansion equipment can be connected to expand the frequency band
WEEKEND EDITION: Luckily, the storm was a fizzle here with the highest gust at 45mph, few and far between. The only challenge is for the guys with lobster gear out there. As usual the  talking TV heads blew it out of proportion.....And the band played on.....Strange lights spotted in Morocco earthquake videos may be a phenomenon reported for centuries, scientists say

Hurricane Lee: Radio Amateurs and Nets Activated

Hurricane Lee is expected to impact portions of New England in the Northeastern United States and Nova Scotia and New Brunswick in Canada. The storm has had the full attention of forecasters and the volunteer organizations that coordinate Amateur Radio response to hurricanes. 

Amateur Radio Emergency Service®(ARES®) volunteer groups are in an elevated state of readiness and alert ahead of the storm.

ARRL Sections in the areas forecast to be impacted have activated. Section Manager of the ARRL Maine Section Phil Duggan, N1EP, sent an email to members in the section on Thursday encouraging them to ready their stations and homes. “Because of all the rain we have been getting, the likelihood of trees toppling is increased and most likely power outages,” he wrote. Duggan said the Washington County ARES group would be on the air starting Friday.

Portions of Eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island have been dealing with flooding rain and tornadoes over the past week. Other areas of New England have had amateur radio activations throughout the week. Section Emergency Coordinator of the ARRL Eastern Massachusetts Section Rob Macedo, KD1CY, who also serves as SKYWARN Coordinator for the National Weather Service Boston/Norton (MA) office and as Operations Manager for the Hurricane VoIP Net says formal activations are planned of the SKYWARN program. “We will support Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency efforts via the SKYWARN mission giving situational awareness and disaster intelligence information on storm damage, coastal flooding, any flooding from heavy rainfall and rain gauge reports,” he said. 

The Hurricane Watch Net (HWN) is planning to activate on Saturday morning at 8:00 am EST on on 14.325 MHz (USB). HWN will activate on 7.268 MHz (LSB) at 9:00 AM EDT (1300 UTC) or after the Waterway Net concludes, whichever occurs first. 

Net Manager Bobby Graves, KB5HAV, says the storm still has a lot of uncertainty. “Over the past couple of days, the forecast track and intensity have been changing, so it is hard to know for sure if Lee will be a Hurricane at landfall. Regardless, as with any landfalling tropical cyclone, there is a strong potential for flooding, flash flooding, storm surge, damaging wind, and spin-up tornados. Unlike other regions of the US where it has been extremely dry, the New England States, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia have been very unseasonably wet. The saturated soil will allow flooding, flash flooding, and for strong winds to push over trees and power poles, so, widespread power outages can be expected,” said Graves.  

The Hurricane VOiP Net is planning to activate on Saturday, according to the groups Public Information Officer, Lloyd Colston, KC5FM, “The VOIPWX.net will be activating Saturday on Echolink 7203 and IRLP 9219 for possible Hurricane Lee reports from New England and Canadian provinces…The net will also connect to the Kansas Sunflower System (www.sunflowernet.us) with connections to Allstar, Hamshack Hotline, TGIF DMR, Dstar, Fusion, M17, and P25,” said Colston in an email.   

The WX4NHC station at the National Hurricane Center will be active on the HWN frequencies and also on the Hurricane VoIP Net. 

The station will also be monitoring WinLink reports via wx4nhc@winlink.org  (subject line must contain //WL2K). An online reporting form is also available. Link: https://w4ehw.fiu.edu/WX-form1.php 

As ARRL Field Organization leaders begin activating volunteers, radio amateurs are encouraged to prepare their stations with the ARES go kit checklist

Amateur Radio Serves in Large Utah Bike Race

 On September 9, 2023, the Bridgerland Amateur Radio Club (BARC) in northern Utah provided amateur radio communications support during LoToJa, the longest 1-day USA Cycling (USAC)-sanctioned bicycle race in America. The LoToJa course consists of 200 miles of rough, mountainous terrain. BARC was prepared for the challenge and had been training and working on their communications plans for more than 3 decades.

The club's involvement with LoToJa began in 1991, when the race had 200 riders and 14 amateur radio operators. This year's event had 1,700 riders and 120 amateur radio operators, including 35 cars with amateur radio operators along for the ride. Amateur radio was engaged in every aspect of the race from start to finish thanks to assistance of operators from Ogden, Davis County, and Salt Lake City, as well as Idaho, Wyoming, and Maryland.

Section Manager of the ARRL Utah Section Pat Malan, N7PAT, said that BARC members evaluate their operating skills and equipment, which is the best form of preparation for emergency communications. "It's a tremendous effort and dedication from everyone," Malan said.

Youth Coordinator for the ARRL Utah Section and former BARC President Kevin Reeve, N7RXE, said the teams deployed two mountaintop portable repeaters (using batteries and solar power), three portable digipeaters, and a portable IGate throughout the racecourse, in addition to setting up four command and net control centers. Reeve explained, "This provided continuous audio and an Automatic Packet Reporting System (APRS) for the 35 cars covering the entire event."

Reeve went on to say that this year, a family needed to contact one of the riders because of an emergency. He stated, "There was no cell phone coverage, but we were able to locate the cyclist in about 5 minutes, then reunite them with their family in 15 minutes."   BARC also provided emergency communications for at least two other large-scale cycling events this year, including the Little Red Riding Hood event that had 3,500 women cyclists and 70 ham radio operators, and the Cache Gran Fondo event that had 1,500 cyclists.

BARC was founded in 1976 by Jeff Jacobsen, WA7MBL; Bob Wood, WA7MXZ, and Bill Neville, WA7KMF (SK), and it exists for the training and fellowship of amateur radio operators. The club currently has 227 members.

2023 SET Exercise to Test Skills and Emergency Preparedness

 The ARRL Simulated Emergency Test (SET) is scheduled for October 7 - 8, 2023.

The SET is ARRL's annual national emergency exercise designed to assess the skills and preparedness of Amateur Radio Emergency Service® (ARES®) volunteers, as well as those affiliated with other organizations involved in emergency and disaster responses. The SET is open to all radio amateurs and partner organizations, in addition to national, state, and local officials. Besides ARES volunteers, those active in the National Traffic System (NTS), Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES), National Weather Service's SKYWARN® Storm Spotter program, Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), and a variety of other allied groups and public service-oriented radio amateurs are needed to fulfill important roles in this nationwide exercise.

During the exercise, volunteers can assess equipment, modes, and skills under simulated emergency conditions and scenarios. Individuals can use the time to update a go-kit for use during deployments and to ensure their home station's operational capability during an emergency or disaster.

To get involved, contact your local ARRL Emergency Coordinator or Net Manager.  

SET guidelines and report forms can be found at:

ARRL Simulated Emergency Test (SET) Guidelines+  

In addition to the ARRL SET exercise, as part of their communications interoperability outreach to the amateur radio community, the US Department of Defense (DOD) will be conducting a DOD COMEX 23-4 exercise. During the week of October 16, they'll conduct a series of high-power HF information transmissions on 60 meters and channel 1 (5330.5 kHz). This event will coincide with the ARRL SET.

 

Amateur Radio Newsline Report

HAM DEPLOYMENT UNCLEAR IN MOROCCAN, LIBYAN CRISES

JIM/ANCHOR: We begin this week with two developing stories: the aftermath of a 6.8 magnitude earthquake in Morocco on September 8th and deadly massive flooding in northeast Libya. According to reports from Region 1 of the International Amateur Radio Union, there was no apparent organized amateur radio deployment in Morocco where the quake death toll was reported to be in the thousands. The IARU continues to monitor the situation. Meanwhile, ham deployments were considered less likely in Libya, where floods from a storm left more than 5,200 dead. According to the IARU website, Libya does not have an active member amateur society. Newsline will update these stories as circumstances warrant.

(IARU REGION 1)

**
US MILITARY EXPLORES WIDEBAND ABOVE 100 GHZ

JIM/ANCHOR: Despite their potential for use in communications, radio frequencies in the terahertz and sub-terahertz ranges - that is, those above 100 GHz - are considered underutilized. The United States Air Force is about to share its plans for a radio they are hoping could change all that. Kent Peterson KCØDGY tells us about it.

KENT: A project in the works in the US Air Force Research Laboratory is exploring the potential that radio frequencies above 100 GHZ have for secure wideband communications. The military is looking to develop an ultra-broadband radio that can adjust output power, data rate and even carrier frequency and are hoping to find defense contractors in the industry who can assist with the project.

Although frequencies in those ranges, which can be used for 6G communications, have a high level of atmospheric absorption that can restrict how far the transmissions travel, the military is hoping to capitalize on the frequencies' ability to accommodate secure channels. The Air Force is hosting an informational day for the industry next month and will be looking for defense contractors who are US citizens to get on board the project.

Early experiments have already proven successful, according to a report on the Inside Towers website. Last December, communication was achieved at frequencies higher than 300 GHZ during flight experiments by the Air Force, which has been exploring these options for almost a decade.

This is Kent Peterson KCØDGY.

(INSIDE TOWERS, MILITARY & AEROSPACE ELECTRONICS)

**
US GOVERNMENT BLOCKS SALVAGE OF TITANIC'S WIRELESS

JIM/ANCHOR: In the latest chapter surrounding controversial salvage operations at the wreckage of the Titanic, the US government is challenging a company's plans to recover the doomed ocean liner's wireless telegraph.

JACK: The planned recovery of the Marconi wireless telegraph from the wreckage of the doomed luxury liner Titanic is being blocked by the United States government, citing federal law and an agreement with Great Britain that the ship should be treated as a gravesite.

The salvage company RMS Titanic Inc., based in Georgia, had announced its plan to visit the wreck site next May to recover items - including the radio and telegraph used to send the distress call in 1912.

Attorneys for the U.S. government claim the expedition would violate a pact with Great Britain that classifies the wreckage as a memorial. The government also maintains that the salvage trip would violate protections that the US Congress granted the TItanic site. The RMS TItanic company has particular interest in the Marconi room, where messages in Morse Code were transmitted, signaling that the ship was damaged after striking an iceberg in the North Atlantic while enroute to New York from Southampton, England.

RMST, which had been granted salvage rights earlier by the court, told the Associated Press recently [quote] "The company will continue its work, respectfully preserving the memory and legacy of Titanic, her passengers and crew for the future generations." [endquote] The company plans to put the radio in an exhibit that tells the story of the lost liner. In May 2020, the court gave RMST permission to recover the radio because of its historical significance but the US government challenged the plans for the expedition that year. The expedition was called off.

This is Jack Parker W8ISH.

(ASSOCIATED PRESS)

**

HAMS IN BELGIUM HAVE NEW 8M ACCESS

JIM/ANCHOR: There's new access on the 8M band for amateurs in Belgium. Jeremy Boot G4NJH tells us more.

JEREMY: Hams in Belgium have been given privileges on the 40 MHz band, joining radio operators in South Africa, Slovenia and Ireland with 8-metre access. The Belgian regulator informed the UBA, the Royal Belgian Amateur Radio Union, that hams with a Class A operating certificate, the HAREC licence, are granted the use of frequencies between 40.660 and 40.690 on a secondary basis. Operators' power is limited to 5 watts ERP and operating bandwidth cannot exceed 3 kHz. Hams will also be required to keep a log of all transmissions and must submit it to the regulator at year's end. The UBA had petitioned the BIPT some time ago to grant this limited portion of the band for amateurs' use and, following a period of consultation, anticipated that the regulator would favour it.

This is Jeremy Boot G4NJH.

(UBA WEBSITE, WIA)

**

EXPERIMENTAL LOW-PASS FILTER MAKES DEBUT IN LONDON

JIM/ANCHOR: A different kind of RF filter has just been introduced by a defense company in Sweden to assist in military communications. Again, here's Jeremy Boot G4NJH.

JEREMY: It is being called the Ultra-Lightweight Camouflage Screen-Frequency Selected Surface, and it introduces a new capability for soldiers' communications in the field. It is a filter that permits certain radio frequencies to pass through the mesh of a camouflage net protecting military vehicles. The surface, which is not yet in service, was introduced by the Swedish defense company Saab earlier this month.

Saab says that until now, camouflage nets' ability to reduce enemy sensors' detection of equipment has also prevented GPS signals and other communications passing through, jeopardizing soldiers who then must move out of camouflage cover to perform certain tasks. At times that has even meant sticking antennas through the mesh in order to transmit or receive signals.

Johan Jersblad, a Saab senior development engineer, told reporters that the surface functions as a low-pass filter, which allows transmitted or received signals to penetrate the camouflage screen but retains the screen's ability to be undetected by higher-frequency radar.

The surface was on display for visitors at the DSEI Defence Exhibition held in London from the 12th to the 15th of September.

This is Jeremy Boot G4NJH.

(DEFENSE NEWS)

**
SPECIAL EVENT CELEBRATES HISTORIC TOWN'S 275TH BIRTHDAY

JIM/ANCHOR: So what do three sons of William Penn - founder of the state of Pennsylvania in the United States - have to do with a special event station being activated in the town of Reading [pronounced REDDING]? Mark Abramowicz NT3V has the story.

MARK: While history records William Penn as the man who established the American colony first known as Penn’s Woods and later Pennsylvania, it was his sons – Thomas, Richard and John - who laid out the first streets of the town of Reading, just north and west of Philadelphia.

The city is celebrating its 275th birthday this year thanks to the work of the Penn brothers.

On Saturday, Sept. 23rd, members of the Reading Radio Club will mark the occasion by activating the club’s call sign - W3BN - as a special event station.

Club members will put three HF stations on the air from the Reading area for a 12-hour-period to commemorate the town’s historic milestone.

Reading’s storied past includes the Reading Railroad, breweries, pretzel-making, and the first factory outlets.

It is also recognized as home to one of the nation’s most successful minor league baseball teams long associated with the Philadelphia Phillies.

But Reading is best known for its Pagoda, an actual reproduction of a Japanese structure, which was built atop Mount Penn overlooking Reading in the early 1900s.

The popular tourist attraction became a historic landmark and a symbol for the town.

There's more about the Reading Radio Club’s special event station and how you can get in on the fun at QRZ.com. Search for W3BN.

And check out the colorful certificate that will look great on the wall of your shack.

In Reading, Pennsylvania, I’m Mark Abramowicz, NT3V.

**
BUYERS REPORTEDLY INTERESTED IN HAMTESTONLINE

JIM/ANCHOR: The popular online instruction program HamTestOnline may not be going out of business after all. The creator and owner of the company, John W1AI (W-ONE-AY-EYE) announced earlier this year that he was planning to retire and would be shutting the website unless a purchaser came forward to continue the license-exam coursework that John had begun. John announced in his most recent newsletter that several organizations have since expressed an interest and that he would be negotiating with one of them soon. He said it was his hope that HamTestOnline would be able to ultimately continue without interruption.

(HAMTESTONLINE)


**
SILENT KEY: ARRL FORMER DIVISION DIRECTOR DAVID COONS, WT8W

JIM/ANCHOR: A former director of the ARRL's Great Lakes Division has become a Silent Key. We hear about him from Stephen Kinford N8WB.

STEPHEN: A radio amateur with a long history as an ARRL, club and Hamvention volunteer has become a Silent Key. Dave Coons, WT8W, died on the 2nd of September.

Throughout his long association with the ARRL he had served as vice director and director of the Great Lakes Division and was a Volunteer Examiner through the ARRL's VEC. Locally, Dave was a leader in the Ohio amateur radio community, serving as president, vice president and secretary of the Dayton Amateur Radio Association through the years. At Dayton Hamvention he was chairman of the Flea Market Committee and was on the Communications Committee. His volunteer spirit won him the Frank J. Kirkpatrick Memorial Award in 1993 from the Clark County Amateur Radio Association, where he was also a member.

Dave was a veteran of the Korean War and served in the United States Navy. He was a retired postmaster of the Miamisburg, Ohio post office.

Dave Coons was 92.

This is Stephen Kinford, N8WB.

(ARRL, DAYTON DAILY NEWS)

**
HAMS REUNITE WOMAN WITH PARENTS AFTER 16-YEAR ABSENCE

JIM/ANCHOR: In India, amateur radio operators have helped a young mother locate her parents, ending 16 years of searching for one another. Jason Daniels VK2LAW brings us those details.

JASON: A 27-year-old woman in India who had been taken by a relative from her parents' home in West Bengal 16 years ago has ended her long search for her family with the help of local radio amateurs.

The West Bengal Radio Club was contacted by authorities and was able to make the reunion happen. The woman had been living in Rajasthan with her husband and three children.

According to a report by the Indo-Asian News Service, the husband told police he first encountered the woman as an 11-year-old girl alone and weeping at a railway station, asking where her parents had gone. A close relative had reportedly taken her from the home in the hopes of having her find a better life.

The husband told police recently that he took the young girl to his own home, where he was living with his mother at the time, and tried without luck to trace her family. He told police that the girl remained in the home but that she did not become his wife until much later - and that it was the wish of his dying mother that he marry her.

The news report said that the woman confirmed the man's story to the police, saying that her husband has treated her well.

The West Bengal Radio Club was able to make the necessary connections back in West Bengal after the authorities contacted them, providing photos and copies of an official government identity card. Ambarish Nag Biswas, VU2JFA, the club's secretary, told Newsline in a text message that after the hams located her family, mother and daughter were reunited on September 7th in a video call. He said that, upon seeing one another, both began crying.

This is Jason Daniels VK2LAW.

(DAIJIWORLD.COM, IANS, AMBARISH NAG BISWAS, VU2JFA)

**
GERMAN RADIO CHANNEL TO DEBUT FULLTIME AI PROGRAMMING

JIM/ANCHOR: Earlier this year, Newsline told listeners about a US radio station on the West Coast that had begun using AI to replicate the voice of a popular DJ by using something called RadioGPT. A channel in Germany has just taken that technology a few steps further. Here's Andy Morrison K9AWM with the details.

ANDY: Artificial intelligence is now responsible for fulltime programming on Antenne Deutschland, which calls the format Absolut Radio AI. The DAB+ multiplex channel in north-central Germany is using Radio.Cloud, which the broadcaster has already been using in its online streaming version. The AI is capable of providing the on-air voice as well as scheduling the necessary breaks and other elements. The broadcaster's managing director told the RadioWorld.com website that they are hoping to eventually find a nationwide market for the programming.

This is Andy Morrison K9AWM.

(RADIOWORLD.COM)

**

WORLD OF DX

In the World of DX, Sajid, VA3QY, is on the air as A22EW from Botswana from the 16th of September to the 8th of October. He will be on 20 through 10 metres and possibly 6m. QSL via eQSL.

Be listening for special callsigns during the 2023 Rugby World Cup hosted by France. The games will continue through to the 28th of October. The callsigns are TM23RBY, TM23RUGB and TM63RWC. See the QRZ.com pages for the individual calls for QSL details.

Don, M0CVZ is active holiday style as 6Y5DH from Jamaica, IOTA number NA-097, through to the 30th of September. He is using SSB on 40, 20, 17, 12 and 10 metres. See QRZ.com for QSL details.

(425 DX BULLETIN)

**
KICKER: A GRAND IDEA FOR A NET

JIM/ANCHOR: Our last story for this week is about family and the future of radio. For some amateurs who are old enough to know the joy of being grandparents, showing the grandkids another big joy - radio - makes for a natural combination, as we hear from Jim Meachen ZL2BHF.

JIM: On Sunday, the 1st of October, the magic hour will be 3 p.m. local time in New Zealand. The magic frequency will be 146.625 MHz -- and the magic combination for Peter Henderson, ZL1PX, will be the company of his grandsons, Alex and Dan, sitting with him in his radio shack. October 1st is Grandparents Day in New Zealand - so earlier this year, Peter, who is vice president of the Franklin Amateur Radio Club, thought that hams in ZL might make good use of that special occasion to pass on the joys of amateur radio to the very youngest generation. Amateurs throughout New Zealand will be getting on their local 2m repeaters to kick off the first Grandparents/Grandkids Net in each region. Peter will be using the callsign ZL1SA on his local repeater in the Auckland region. After everyone has checked in, the young and the young-at-heart will take turns sharing their best grandparent joke, best grandchild joke, stories about their grandmum or granddad - and so on.

Peter suggests starting the day by inviting the grandkids over for Sunday dinner first. Once the meal is done, it will be time for the net.
Ah, but what if you don't have a grandchild? No problem: Peter suggests that you borrow one!

This is a chance to create a memory and - as Peter says, who knows? Maybe even create the next generation of amateurs who, one day, will be grandparents sharing amateur radio with grandkids of their own.

FRIDAY EDITION: Tropical storm watch, thank goodness my son took the boat out last week. It was one short boating season here on the island this summer, a  lot more fun to live on a lake if you are a boater. No salt water to corrode everything, tides, waves daily, etc.....Saturday Sept 16: A ham radio station using the DSES club call sign, K0PRT (Plishner Radio Telescope), will be on HF and VHF radio bands. Using the big dish we will also be working Earth-Moon-Earth (EME) contacts on 1296 MHz -- hear your own voice bounced off the moon!....

Stupidity at its best here....a quick draw should get him in the leg if he is lucky...

DX news

This week's bulletin was made possible with information provided by JA2VBK, The Daily DX, 425 DX News, DXNL, Contest Corral from QST and the ARRL Contest Calendar and WA7BNM web sites. Thanks to all.

ROTUMA ISLAND, 3D2. Darren, VK4MAP is QRV as 3D2RAT until September 29. Activity is holiday style on 80 to 10 meters using SSB. QSL direct to home call.

ITU HQ, 4U_ITU. As part of WRC-23 Preparation, delegates are QRV as 4U1ITU in their spare time until the end of the month. Activity is on the HF bands. QSL via operators' instructions.

TIMOR-LESTE, 4W. Satoshi, JH2EUV is QRV as 4W/JH2EUV from Dili until October 13. Activity is in his spare time on 80 to 6 meters. QSL to home call.

JAMAICA, 6Y. Don, M0CVZ is QRV as 6Y5DH until September 30. Activity is holiday style on 40 to 10 meters using SSB. QSL via LoTW.

BOTSWANA, A2. Sajid, VA3QY is QRV as A22EW until October 8. Activity is on 20 to 10 meters, and possibly 6 meters, using CW, SSB, FT8, and JS8. QSL via KB2MS.

BALEARIC ISLANDS, EA6. Andreas, DK5ON is QRV as EA6/DK5ON from Mallorca Island, IOTA EU-004, until September 28. This includes being active from Lighthouse ARLHS BAL-010, WLOTA 1902. Activity is on 40 to 6 meters using CW, SSB, and various digital modes. QSL to home call.

ALAND ISLANDS, OH0. Operators PA2A, PE1NYQ, PG2K and PA0VHA will be QRV as OH0RY from Mellanon Island from September 17 to 30. Activity will be on the HF bands. This includes being an entry in the upcoming CQ World Wide RTTY DX Contest. QSL via operators' instructions.

CURACAO, PJ2. Gabor, HA3JB will be QRV as PJ2/HA3JB from September 16 to 26. Activity will be on 80 to 6 meters using CW, SSB, RTTY, and FT8. This includes being an entry in the upcoming CQ World Wide RTTY DX contest. QSL direct.

GREECE, SV. Members of the Salamis Radio Amateur Group will be QRV with special call SX480SNB from September 16 to 30 to commemorate the 480 BC Battle of Salamis. QSL on LoTW.

DODECANESE, SV5. Claudio, HB9OAU is QRV as SV5/HB9OAU from Karpathos Island, IOTA EU-001, until September 21. Activity is on 80 to 10 meters using CW, SSB, and FT8. QSL via LoTW.

EAST KIRIBATI, T32. Ken, KH6QJ is QRV as T32AZ from Kiritimati, IOTA OC-024, until October 17. QSL to home call.

PALAU, T8. Operators JR3QFB, JO3LVG and JM1LIG are QRV as T88JH, T88MK, and T88FM, respectively, from Koror Island, IOTA OC-009, until September 19. Activity is on 40 to 6 meters using CW and some SSB. QSL to home calls.

ICELAND, TF. George, K5KG and Charles, K1XX are QRV as TF/K5KG and TF/K1XX, respectively, until September 18. Activity is on the HF bands. They plan to be active as part of the TF3D Multi/Multi team in the Scandinavia Activity CW contest. QSL via LoTW.

MICRONESIA, V6. Look for V6Z, V63Z, V6AAA, V6WW, V63FM, V63OS, V63VB, and V63SX to be QRV from Weno Island, IOTA OC-011, from September 18 to 21. Activity will be on 160 to 6 meters using CW, SSB, and FT8. This includes a beacon active on 50150 kHz. QSL via operators' instructions.

PITCAIRN ISLAND, VP6. Meralda, VP6MW has been active on 10 meters using FT8 around 1600z. QSL via W0VTT.

INDIA, VU. Special event station AT2G20 is QRV until September 15 in honor of the multinational G20 meeting being held here. QSL via operators' instructions.

VIET NAM, XV. Greg, XV9BPO was active on 15 meters using CW around 1500z. QSL via EA5GL.

CHATHAM ISLANDS, ZL7. Holger, ZL3IO will be QRV as ZL7IO from September 16 to 29. Activity will be on 160 to 10 meters using CW, SSB, RTTY, FT8, and FT4. He plans to be active in the upcoming CQ World Wide RTTY DX contest. QSL via DK7AO.

THURSDAY EDITION: I will be attempting to replace the battery in my Dell 5400 laptop later this morning, it's easy they say! We will see with these big mitts and reading glass eyes....Why Hooters hasn't opened up a delivery service called Knockers sounds like a missed business opportunity to me....Antenna disconnect idea ....

If you’ve ever thought about launching a high-altitude balloon, there’s much to consider. One of the things is how do you stream video down so that you — and others — can enjoy the fruits of your labor? You’ll find advice on that and more in a recent post from [scd31]. You’ll at least enjoy the real-time video recorded from the launch that you can see below.

The video is encoded with a Raspberry Pi 4 using H264. The MPEG-TS stream feeds down using 70 cm ham radio gear. If you are interested in this sort of thing, software, including flight and ground code, is on the Internet. There is software for the Pi, an STM32, plus the packages you’ll need for the ground side.

We love high-altitude balloons here at Hackaday. San Francisco High Altitude Ballooning (SF-HAB) launched a pair during last year’s Supercon, which attendees were able to track online. We don’t suggest you try to put a crew onboard, but there’s a long and dangerous history of people who did. via Blog – Hackaday https://hackaday.com/2023/09/11/balloon-eye-view-via-ham-radio/



Comparison of coax...

 

SUNNY WEDNESDAY EDITION: Early trip to the glass repair outfit to order a double pane window glass for my Anderson tilt and clean, the seal got broken by a rock I was trimming with the tractor, oops, $200....

Radio, electronics hobbyists set to converge on Three Sisters Park for weekend ‘hamfest’

CHILLICOTHE (25News Now) - An event hosted for more than 60 years is set to take place this coming weekend - at a new home.

The Peoria Area Amateur Radio Club’s Midwest Superfest will bring in electronics hobbyists and amateur radio operators from around the region to Three Sisters Park on September 16 & 17, offering a trade show, flea market, educational forums and other activities of interest to ham radio operators and others wanting to know about the amateur radio hobby.

According to a release, the club says amateur or ham radio operators use radio to communicate around the world and regularly provide communication service when phones, the internet and other systems fail in the aftermath of tornadoes, earthquakes, hurricanes, or other natural disasters.

More information on the hamfest can be found here.

Mississippi hams

RIDGELAND, Miss. (WJTV) – You’ve probably hear that the difference between men and boys is the price of their toys. Sometimes those toys started out as magic when they were kids, and for many, it’s still magic today.

Under the tents at Highlands Presbyterian Church in Ridgeland on Saturday, groups of people gathered around various electronic devices. Talking into microphones or beeping Morris code or monitoring a computer screen or tracking satellites with a handheld antenna. These are amateur radio operators. 

Senior Pastor Joseph Wheat said the church yard has been turned over to them.

“It’s a fascinating hobby because you’re just in touch with people all over the world,” said Wheat.

Frank Howell is with the Jackson Amateur Radio Club and said they are a part of a small, worldwide activity.

“And we are doing something called Churches on the Air, a program that began in1957 in merry old England,” Howell said.

For Howell, his involvement in a day like this started way back when he was a kid, and his older brother broke the antenna off of his transistor radio.

“I turned to on, I put my finger on the broken stub, and I was hearing everything. How did that magic happen! That was at eight years old, Walt. I’ve been hooked on the magic of radio waves ever since,” he said.

Mike Duke fell under the trance of radio as a child after discovering a neighbor’s short-wave set. Duke became a ham operator when he was a teenager. It transported him way beyond the limitations of his room.

“My dad said once, ‘It keeps him off the streets but gets him out of the house,'” said Duke.

Mike McKay communicates with a computer. He has reached other computer hams in Finland, North Macedonia, France, Germany and Washington state. McKay discovered there is magic in the air early on his life.

“From the time I was a little boy, I put together crystal radio sets and run a bare wire out my bedroom window,” he said.

I don’t know what children are into today. Something with computers no doubt, but there can be magic in everything. And left to mature, it can take you places you’d have never imagine.

SOGGY TUESDAY EDITION: Lot's of rain, nearby city got 11 inches in 5 hours....Today's Dub of the Day: Biden Commemorating 9/11 in Alaska Sparks Backlash, he must have forgot it happened in NY...Despite being robbed, vandalized and almost having their entire operation burned to the ground, the Cambridge Amateur Radio Club will not back down

Focused on Mississippi: Amateur radio operators

RIDGELAND, Miss. (WJTV) – You’ve probably hear that the difference between men and boys is the price of their toys. Sometimes those toys started out as magic when they were kids, and for many, it’s still magic today.

Under the tents at Highlands Presbyterian Church in Ridgeland on Saturday, groups of people gathered around various electronic devices. Talking into microphones or beeping Morris code (must be a new digital mode) or monitoring a computer screen or tracking satellites with a handheld antenna. These are amateur radio operators. 

Senior Pastor Joseph Wheat said the church yard has been turned over to them.

“It’s a fascinating hobby because you’re just in touch with people all over the world,” said Wheat.

Frank Howell is with the Jackson Amateur Radio Club and said they are a part of a small, worldwide activity.

For Howell, his involvement in a day like this started way back when he was a kid, and his older brother broke the antenna off of his transistor radio.

“I turned to on, I put my finger on the broken stub, and I was hearing everything. How did that magic happen! That was at eight years old, Walt. I’ve been hooked on the magic of radio waves ever since,” he said.

Mike Duke fell under the trance of radio as a child after discovering a neighbor’s short-wave set. Duke became a ham operator when he was a teenager. It transported him way beyond the limitations of his room.

“And we are doing something called Churches on the Air, a program that began in1957 in merry old England,” Howell said.

“My dad said once, ‘It keeps him off the streets but gets him out of the house,'” said Duke.

Mike McKay communicates with a computer. He has reached other computer hams in Finland, North Macedonia, France, Germany and Washington state. McKay discovered there is magic in the air early on his life.

“From the time I was a little boy, I put together crystal radio sets and run a bare wire out my bedroom window,” he said.

I don’t know what children are into today. Something with computers no doubt, but there can be magic in everything. And left to mature, it can take you places you’d have never imagine.

The US military’s tiniest drone feels like it flew straight out of a sci-fi film

The Black Hornet reconnoissance drone is minuscule and highly maneuverable—and even explored the collapsed parking garage in New York City in April.

On April 18 in New York City, a parking garage in lower Manhattan collapsed, killing one person—the garage’s manager, Willis Moore. Much of the media coverage surrounding that event focused on a robotic dog that the New York City Fire Department used on the scene, a mechanical quadruped painted like a dalmatian and named Bergh. But another robot explored the collapsed structure that spring day—an exceptionally tiny and quiet drone flown by militaries that looks exactly like a little helicopter.

It’s called the Black Hornet. It weighs less than 1.2 ounces, takes off from its operator’s hand, and streams back video to a screen so people can see what the drone sees and make decisions before approaching a structure that might have hostile forces or other hazards inside it. 

Here’s how this 6.6-inch-long drone works, what it’s like to fly it, and how it was used that April day following the deadly structural collapse. 

Popular Science received a demonstration of the drone on August 10, and had the chance to fly it, in a space on the ground floor of a New York City hotel near Central Park. 

Rob Laskovich, a former Navy SEAL and the lead trainer for the Black Hornet with Teledyne FLIR, the company that makes the diminutive drone, explains that the drone’s low “noise signature” makes it virtually undetectable when it’s more than 10 feet away from people and 10 feet in the air. “It almost disappears,” he says. “And the size of this thing—it’s able to get into very tight corners.” 

Because it’s so quiet and so maneuverable, the itty bitty drone offers a way to gather information about what’s in a space up to a mile away or further and stream that video (at a resolution of 640 by 480 pixels) over encrypted radio link back to the base station. This latest version of the Black Hornet also doesn’t need access to GPS to fly, meaning it can operate inside a building or in other “GPS-denied” spaces. It carries no weapons. 

Popular Science received a demonstration of the drone on August 10, and had the chance to fly it, in a space on the ground floor of a New York City hotel near Central Park. 

Rob Laskovich, a former Navy SEAL and the lead trainer for the Black Hornet with Teledyne FLIR, the company that makes the diminutive drone, explains that the drone’s low “noise signature” makes it virtually undetectable when it’s more than 10 feet away from people and 10 feet in the air. “It almost disappears,” he says. “And the size of this thing—it’s able to get into very tight corners.” 

Because it’s so quiet and so maneuverable, the itty bitty drone offers a way to gather information about what’s in a space up to a mile away or further and stream that video (at a resolution of 640 by 480 pixels) over encrypted radio link back to the base station. This latest version of the Black Hornet also doesn’t need access to GPS to fly, meaning it can operate inside a building or in other “GPS-denied” spaces. It carries no weapons. 

Laskovich says this is the smallest drone in use by the US Department of Defense; Teledyne FLIR says that the US Army, Navy, Marines, and Air Force have the drone on hand. Earlier this summer, the company announced that they were going to produce 1,000 of these itty bitty aircraft for the Norwegian Ministry of Defense, who would send them to Ukraine, adding to 300 that had already been sent. Skrocki notes that a kit of three drones and other equipment can cost “in the neighborhood of about $85,000.”

Eventually Laskovich pilots the chopper back to him and grabs it out of the air from the bottom, as if he was a gentle King Kong grabbing a full-sized helicopter out of the sky, and uses the hand controller to turn it off. 

Kitchen confidential 

The demonstration that Laskovich had conducted was with a Black Hornet model that uses cameras to see the world like a typical camera sensor does. Then he demonstrates an aircraft that has thermal vision. (That’s different from night vision, by the way.) On the base station’s screen, the hot things the drone sees can be depicted in different ways: with white showing the hot spots, black showing the heat, or two different “fuse” modes, the second of which is highly colorful, with oranges and reds and purples. That one, with its bright colors, Laskovich calls “Predator mode,” he says, “because it looks like the old movie Predator.

HAMS YOU MIGHT KNOW 

 K1TP- Jon....Editor of As The World Turns....
WB1ABC- Ari..Bought an amp and now we can here him on 75 meters, worships his wife, obsessed with Id'ing
N1BOW-Phil...Retired broadcast engineer, confused and gullible, cheap, only uses singl ply toilet paper
KB1OWO- Larry...Handsome Fellow ,only cuts lawn in August, plows snow the rest in Jackman, Maine
W1GEK- Big Mike....Nearfest Cook, big motor home, electronics software engineer ...
AA1SB- Neil...Living large traveling the country with his girlfriend...loves CW
N1YX- Igor....peddles quality Russian keys, software engineer
K1BGH...Art.....Restores cars and radio gear, nice fella...
N1XW.....Mike-easy going, Harley riding kind of guy!
K1JEK-Joe...Easy going, can be found at most ham flea market ...Cobra Antenna builder..
KA1GJU- Kriss- Tower climbing pilot who cooks on the side at Hosstrader's...
W1GWU-Bob....one of the Hosstrader's original organizers, 75 meter regular, Tech Wizard!!!
K1PV- Roger....75 meter regular, easy going guy...
W1XER...Scott....easy going guy, loves to split cordwood and hunt...
KB1VX- Barry- the picture says it all, he loves food!
KC1BBU- Bob....the Mud Duck from the Cape Cod Canal, making a lot of noise.
W1STS- Scott...philosopher, hat connoisseur,
KB1JXU- Matthew...75 meter regular...our token liberal Democrat out of Florida
K1PEK-Steve..Founder of Davis-RF....my best friend from high school 
K9AEN-John...Easy going ham found at all the ham fests
K1BQT.....Rick....very talented ham, loves his politics, has designed gear for MFJ...
W1KQ- Jim-  Retired Air Force Controller...told quite a few pilots where to go!
N1OOL-Jeff- The 3936 master plumber and ragchewer...
K1BRS-Bruce- Computer Tech of 3936...multi talented kidney stone passing ham...
K1BGH- Arthur, Cape Cod, construction company/ice cream shop, hard working man....
W1VAK- Ed, Cape Cod, lots of experience in all areas, once was a Jacques Cousteus body guard....
K1BNH- Bill- Used to work for a bottled gas company-we think he has been around nitrous oxide to long
W1HHO- Cal...3941 group
K1MPM- Pete...3941 group
WA1JFX- Russell...3941 group .

SILENT KEYS

Silet Key KA1BXB-Don...Regular on 3900 mornings....just don't mention politics to him, please!
Silent Key N1IOM- 3910 colorful regular
Silent Key WS1D- Warren- "Windy" - Bullnet
Silent Key KMIG-Rick....75 Meter Regular....teaches the future of mankind, it's scary!
Silent Key Neil -K1YPM .....a true gentleman
Silent Key K1BXI- John.........Dr. Linux....fine amateur radio op ....wealth of experience...
Silent KeyVA2GJB- Graham...one of the good 14313 guys back in the day.
Silent Key K1BHV- David...PITA
Silent Key W1JSH- Mort...Air Force man
Silent Key K1MAN--Glen....PITA
Silent KeyKB1CJG-"Cobby"- Low key gent can be found on many of the 75 meter nets.........
Silent KeyWB1AAZ- Mike, Antrim, NH, auto parts truck driver-retired
Silent KeyWB1DVD- Gil....Gilly..Gilmore.....easy going, computer parts selling, New England Ham..
Silent Key W1OKQ- Jack....3936 Wheeling and Dealing......keeping the boys on there toes....
Silent Key W1TCS- Terry....75 meter regular, wealth of electronic knowledge...
Silent Key WIPNR- Mack....DXCC Master, worked them all!.. 3864 regular for many years...
Silent Key WILIM- Hu....SK at 92... 3864 regular for many years...
Silent Key N1SIE- Dave....Loves to fly
Silent Key:N1WBD- Big Bob- Tallest ham, at 6'10", of the 3864 group
Silent Key: W1FSK-Steve....Navy Pilot, HRO Salesman, has owned every radio ever built!
Silent Key: W4NTI-Vietnam Dan....far from easy going cw and ssb op on 14275/313
Silent Key:K1FUB-Bill- Loved ham radio....